Secret's safe with me
by vandagold
Summary: Have you ever asked yourself how would it be Zhante's first Christmas and New Year together? Well, this is how I think it would be like. Please R&R ;)
1. Home is where the heart stops

**So… I don't know what is this. I just know that this crazy idea appeared in my mind and it didn't let me concentrate on my Love is For Fools story, so I was obliged to write this. Maybe it is a sequel or an AU to LIFF, I don't know. **

**Anyways, enjoy and…**

**HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE! :)**

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_Chapter 1- Home is where the heart stops_

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**Zhalia's P.O.V.**

I hate Christmas. I really do. It's just a stupid celebration you spend with your family, being happy and offering presents to the other people.

Who de heck did invented this shitty thing? And who the heck would like to spend their money buying stuff for other people?

I sighed and increased the volume of the music, trying not to listen to the chat between the others. My ears started to hurt, but it didn't matter to me. After all, having my ears pouring blood was better than listen to the horrible Christmas plans that the team was making.

"So, where are you going to spend Christmas?" Asked Sophie to Lok, with her eyes shining in joy.

Me, for the fifth time in that evening, increased the volume, hoping that the _death metal_ music could muffle their voices.

Unfortunately, it didn't.

"To Ireland, of course!" Lok got up from his seat on the private jet, making theatrical gestures with his hands, not managing to contain his happiness. "My mom will make lots of apple pies with Cathy. I can't refuse such an offer!"

Kate, sitting next to Den, rolled her eyes before she turned her attention to him. "Is he always like that?"

The young boy shrugged, raising his gaze from the magazine he was reading. "Lok is Lok. Of course he is always like that."

"And what about you, Soph?" Lok returned to his seat, next to the Casterwill girl.

"Oh, I don't know." Sophie lowered her gaze to her lap, avoiding Lok's blue eyes. "Usually, I spend Christmas with Santiago and LeBlanche, but this year… I have Lucas."

"Are you afraid that he doesn't want to spend Christmas with you?" Oh, c'mon! I was almost killed in the mission that we had done that day. I survived to the anger of a really powerful titan; It would be a shame if I just died of listening to such lame things.

"Well… A little." Admitted the girl, still not looking him in the eye.

In that moment, Lok took Sophie's hand in his, making the girl jump a little.

"Only a fool wouldn't want to spend Christmas with you, Sophie." Lok blushed a little saying this, but the girl only smiled.

_Urgh_! Now I would definitely die.

I increased the volume even more, but it didn't make any effect. The teens were to happy too just talk a little bit lower.

Great! Now I was deaf for nothing.

Lok dropped his "friend" hand, their faces red like tomatoes. Composing himself, he asked Kate: "So, Kate… What are your plans for Christmas?"

My protégée couldn't help but smile broadly.

Of course.

She was spending this day with her boyfriend, Rick. At first, she even tried to convince me to spend the day with them, but I refused. Unfortunately for me, she then decided to go for the _you-will-die-alone_ approach, proclaiming that one day, all the people I knew would constitute family, and I would die old and alone, with no one who cared about me.

Wow, that was depressing.

I sighed, while Kate explained happily that she and Rick would spend Christm… You know what? I'm tired of that word. Let's just say that she explained to the others that she would spend _the-day-you-know_ with her boyfriend on a paradise island, exchanging the snow by some beaches of blue water.

Well… Surprisingly, that wasn't even a bad plan. In that time of the year, Venice was covered by a cold white mantle, so Hawaii seemed like a nice idea.

In the next couple of minutes, was Den's turn to tell the team how he would spend the day of the December 25th.

"Me and Harrison decided to go to Amsterdam, to our old orphanage. We thought that it would be nice to pay a visit in this time of the year to the kids that don't have a family." Den shrugged a little, shy. "It's just… I know how it feels to be alone, especially on Christmas. It's so sad… I just thought that the other kids would like to have someone besides the Director or Mrs. Wolfshireze."

The corners of my lips curved on smile.

Den and Harrison were both good boys. So it wasn't a surprise when he told that. And I, also knowing how it feels like to be a little brat with no one in this day, supported their idea.

Even if since I became and adult I didn't care about Christmas, obviously.

"Wow, that's so sweet of you." Commented Kate with a… Gosh, was that a tear in the corner of her eye?

Ok, that was enough for me.

I got up from my seat and walked to the cockpit, closing the doors behind me. Dante turned around, surprised to have some company.

I sighed and sat on the co-pilot's place, taking off my earphones.

"Everything's alright?" He asked me, with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, fantastic." I retorted, on a sarcastic tone. "The teens won't shut up about their Christmas plans and now, I'm almost deaf."

Dante's eyebrow rose a little more, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he just took from his pocket a little box, wrapped on a red paper.

He extended it to me, making me begin to nod my head from the left to the right side. "No way, Dante. You already know that I…"

Dante cut off my speech. "I know, I know. But tomorrow, besides being Christmas Day, it's also your birthday." Oh, didn't I told you? I also don't like Christmas because I was born in that day. The problem is that people, every year, would try to mix both celebrations. As you can imagine, it was a crap.

Dante continued, ignoring my protests: "And I remember you telling me that you would catch a plane tomorrow to L.A., right? Since I'm not going to see you during two weeks, I decided to give you this. So you would not forget me."

His last phrase made me freeze. I mean, his all speech made me freeze.

And how the hell did he know that my birthday was in the next day?

Feeling defeated, I accepted the little box, making Dante smile broadly.

"You can open it." He said, pointing with his chin to the object in my hand.

I sighed, before I started to unwrap the present. I open the little black box of velvet, and lost my breath, seeing the beautiful necklace before me. Its thread seemed to be made of silver and, in the middle of it, a huge big red rock hung.

Oh. My. Sweet. God.

"Dante…" I pointed to the ruby, my eyes wide open. "Is this a real one?"

His smile only grew more, watching my reaction. "Of course it is."

I gave him the box. "Are you crazy? You know I can't accept this."

"Zhaal…"

"And how much did you spend in this?"

"Zhalia…"

"You have to be with a fever. A really high one."

"Zhalia." Dante spoke a little louder, interrupting me. "It doesn't matter. You deserve it." He then returned the box to my hands, closing them around the object. His touch, even if I didn't want to admit, made me feel chills all over my body.

We stayed some moments like that, his hands around mine and our eyes never looking away from the other, like if we were hypnotized.

My heart was pounding wildly and I barely could breathe.

Why did he have such an effect on me? Why?

I took a deep breath before I spoke. "You are amazing, Dante. Truly amazing." He smiled a little, and, before he could see the tears on the corner of my eyes, I hugged him. "Thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me." Maybe he did, but that didn't matter. I just could think about how never someone had made such a gesture of that kind to me.

He hugged me back, and, even if I couldn't see his face, I knew he was surprised. After all, it isn't like you receive a hug from me every day.

"You're welcome." He said, his hot breath against my ear, making me shiver.

Again.

"Could you do a favor to me?"

"Of course."

I took another deep breath, trying to gain courage. "Tomorrow… Could you come to the airport to say goodbye to me?"

Dante's arms shortened the siege around me, and for a second, I thought that he didn't want me to go. But that, unfortunately, was just pure madness.

"Promised."

**Valentina's P.O.V.**

**Later that day…**

"Please, please, Danty! Bring Zhalia to our home! Please!"

Dante sighed and took another sip from his coffee, attempting to avoid my gaze.

I know he was my brother, but he really was a little _bastardo _when the subject was Zhalia Moon.

"Dante… C'mon! I want to meet her."

My brother just ignored me, preferring to just drink lots of coffee and reading a newspaper.

Ok, I've already tried the nice approach, but since it didn't work, I hadn't other choice but try the _I'm-your-older-sister-so-do-what-I-tell,-you-bastard_.

I took from his hands the newspaper he was reading and threw the coffee to the sink.

"Hey!" Dante got up from his seat and (finally) seemed like he was paying attention to me.

"Oh, now you don't ignore me? Good. Now listen: I wanna meet your girlfriend."

Dante, who was walking to his chair when I said this, almost fell to the ground.

"Girlfriend? Zhalia is just a friend." He declared, in his most fake tone of honesty.

I rolled my eyes, tired of that "Uh, Zhalia? Zhalia is just my friend. There's nothing going on between us."

"Danty, could you please slap it off? In case you don't remember, you even tried to kiss her in that train!"

Dante hung his head and began massaging his temples, like if he was getting a headache. "I knew I shouldn't have told you that." He said, with a sigh.

I smiled triumphantly. "Maybe not, but that doesn't matter." I took a seat in front of him, my expression of a dead serious. "Look, your woman will catch a plane to Los Angeles to spend Christmas Day, which is also her birthday, alone. Don't you think that's terrible sad?" Before Dante could protest, I covered his hand with mine. "She's good for you, Danty. Trust me. Since you met her, you…" I swallowed dry, attempting to prevent tears from slipping into my cheeks. "The only time I saw you so happy was when mom and dad weren't dead. And that was 16 years ago."

"Val…"

"You love her, Danty. You can't just let her go."

"I don't love her and it's just for two weeks." Retorted him, sighing.

"Yeah, but in two weeks, she can meet another man." I closed my eyes, trying to remember the name of her ex… "Nathan Smith, remember? Didn't you told me that he is Zhalia's ex and still loves her? Doesn't he live in L.A.?"

Dante clenched his fist. Oh, oh! My little brother was jealous!

"Yes, but that doesn't mean…"

I cut his speech. "I'm just saying that if you don't do something _now_, maybe it'll be too late when she gets back from L.A."

Dante sighed, and before he could respond, Kevin appeared.

He then ran past me, heading to his uncle's lap. "Uncle Dante! Uncle Dante! Are you going to bring your girlfriend this Christmas?" Asked my son, making the cutest puppy eyes I've ever saw.

"Well…" Dante turned his gaze to me, while Kevin continued to beg.

I pointed with my chin to the little boy. "Are you going to disappoint him, Danty?"

In a perfect timing, Tom appeared in the kitchen, giving me a small kiss on my forehead. When he noticed that Dante was in the room, he smiled broadly. "So, are you bringin' your girlfriend?"

Dante sighed while a devilish grin appeared on my lips.

Oh, I just loved my boys.

**Dante's P.O.V.**

**The next day…**

"So… See you in two weeks?"

Zhalia smiled a little, before she hugged me. "See you in two weeks."

I let her go, a little reluctant, the chat between me and Val still echoing in my head.

And what if my sister, for the first time in her life, was right? What if Zhalia met someone else during her trip? What if she and Nate would get back together?

The thought made my heart feel a little strange, but I ignored it. After all, she was just my friend and teammate. What almost happened in the train was just… Well, was just something.

I sighed, seeing her leaving me behind, heading to the gates.

Maybe Val was right. Maybe I should ask her to spend Christmas with me and my family. I mean, even Kevin, who was just 6 years old begged me to bring her home.

I sighed again and, cursing Val, Tom and Kev under my breath, I ran to Zhalia. I put a hand in her shoulder, making her jump a little.

"Dante? What are you doing?"

"Look, I know that you hate Christmas, but I thought…" I kinda of forget what I was supposed to say, when I saw that she was wearing the necklace I gave her. I didn't know why, but that made me feel extremely happy.

Zhalia rose an eyebrow. "You what?"

I took a deep breath, before I proceeded. "Right. I thought that you would like to spend Christmas with me and my family."

In the next couple of moments, I stopped breathing while searching for a clue of what Zhalia was thinking in her face.

"I…" Zhalia was interrupted by the voice of a woman informing that that was the last call to the flight 1294.

Zhalia's flight.

She turned to me, with a guilty expression. "I'm sorry Dante, but I have to go."

I made a fake reassuring smile. "It's ok. Go."

Zhaal opened her mouth, like she wanted to tell something, but she just smiled a little before turning away.

Good. I was a complete dumbass.

**Third's Person P.O.V.**

Zhalia was about to give her ticket to the blonde stewardess, when she looked to the necklace Dante gave her.

Gosh, he was crazy. That cost him what? A small fortune?

Zhalia sighed, touching the ruby. He offered her that. He said that she deserved it.

He was wrong.

Zhalia looked back and saw him, waving a goodbye at her.

"Miss? Your ticket?"

Zhalia looked at the young woman and then at the necklace.

She couldn't do this to Dante.

_Oh, screw it_ , she thought, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. This isn't my flight." She said, with a fake smile. Before the flight attendant could say something, Zhalia turned back, with her suitcase on her right hand. When she turned her gaze to the place where Dante was, her heart skipped a beat.

He wasn't there.

She started to run like a maniac to the exit, with her eyes scrutinizing each face that she saw.

Damn, where was he?

She stopped at the entrance of the airport, feeling defeated. Great, she had missed her flight for nothing. And she could say goodbye to the LA beaches, since in Venice she would only find snow and cold. Very cold.

Cursing under her breath, she was about to leave when she heard a voice behind her. "Zhaal? What are you doing here?"

When she turned back to face Dante, Zhalia had to do a huge effort to not smile. "Well, have you never heard that saying: Home is where the heart stops?" She demanded, acting the most natural possible and not like she wanted to hug him so bad.

Dante smiled broadly and took the suitcase from her hand, making Zhalia roll her eyes. "Then let's go home." He declared, offering her a hand.

Zhalia accepted it, a little nervous. She had to take several deep breaths so her hand wouldn't shake.

But it was in the ride back home that she couldn't stop it.

She was about to meet his family.

Dante's family.

Zhalia took another deep breath, asking herself where the heck was her sanity when she decided to not travel to America.

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**I'm so sorry for not having update Love is for fools. I promise that I'm trying.**

**About this story, I think this will only have one or two more chapters. After all, this is just a kind of "Christmas Especial".**

**Hope you liked and remember that reviews are a great Christmas gift :)**


	2. Can't get this feeling out of my mind

**A huge thanks to Nina Vale for putting up with me.**

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_Chapter 2-Can't get this feeling out of my mind_

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**Zhalia's** **P.O.V.**

Dante opened the door, letting a gust of cold air enter in the car.

He quickly sat on his seat and offered me a cup of coffee.

"Gosh, thank you." I said, while he closed the door.

After I've almost fall asleep with my head slowly landing on Dante's shoulder, we decided that I really needed caffeine. So, some minutes later, he stopped at a gas station near Piacenza, leaving me alone some moments, thinking that I was about to do the most stupidest thing in my life.

I should be sick when I accepted his offer.

"You're welcome." Dante turned on the engine and we were back on the road.

I stretched a little in my seat, yawning. "Where did you say it was your house again?"

"In Genova. It's just three hours away from here."

"_Just_ three hours away, huh?" I sighed, bored. What the heck would I do during three hours of driving? Think of how his family would eat me alive?

I looked at Dante by the corner of the eye and then at the necklace he gave me.

Well, Dante had paid a lot for that jewel. The least I could do was facing his family. It couldn't be that hard, right? I mean, I was a seeker. I faced death with every mission I did. His parents were the last of my worries.

Right?

I turned my head to Dante, who was driving attentively, his eyes never leaving the road.

"Hmm, Dante?" I drank some coffee, trying to gain some time to think what my next move would be. "How is your family like?"

Dante smiled at my question. "They're nice, I guess. My sister is really a pain in the ass sometimes, but her husband and her kids are very nice."

I almost got choked up.

Kids? They hated me. I was just absolutely terrible with kids. And Dante… He was their uncle.

I looked at him, trying not to be open-mouthed.

Gosh, he was an uncle. And I was terrible with kids. They'd probably start crying when they'd see me.

Gosh, what the heck did I get into?

I took a deep breath, already fearing what would his answer be to:

"And your parents?"

Dante's smile was replaced by a hard expression, and I noticed that he grabbed the wheel tighter.

"They died when I was a kid."

I froze, listening to his pained words. He always seemed to be so happy, so full of life… I never thought that something so tragic like that could have happened to him.

Seconds passed and, like he didn't seem to deepen the subject, I just said:

"I'm sorry."

A deadly silence fell on the car after this exchanging of words, and I, feeling uncomfortable, began to drink from the cup of coffee.

About thirty minutes later, when we were entering the A21, Dante exhaled, before he explained, still not looking away from the road:

"I was just a little 12-year-old brat. Me and Val, my sister, were sitting on the backseat. We started fighting with each other because I pulled her hair, and then she gave me a punch on the nose. It was just a normal family trip." I smiled a bit with his statement, until he proceeded, in a darker tone: "But then… It happened so quickly. In a moment my mom was scolding us and then in the other…" Dante shook his head, like if he was reprimanding himself. "When I woke up, Val was screaming to our parents, but they didn't answer. When we smelled the smoke, she helped me remove the seat belt, and then we ran. We just turned away when we heard the explosion."

I swallowed dry, imagining the terrible scene.

Knowing that another "I'm sorry" wouldn't be enough to cease a little the pain in his heart, I slowly put a hand over his and squeezed it lightly.

* * *

**Dante's P.O.V.**

Some minutes after my confession, I decided to break the serious atmosphere that had taken over us.

What better way to do that that convince Zhalia to sing for me?

I turned the radio on, which made Zhalia remove my hand from mine. Oddly, I felt some kind of emptiness when she did that, but I quickly shrugged it off. After all, that wasn't the time nor the place to tell her how I felt.

The poor was already going to meet my sister. The last thing she needed now was an awkward talk between us.

"You like _rock_ music, am I right?" I asked, while changing radio channels.

"Yes. Why?"

I grinned devilish. "Wait a sec and you'll see."

Zhaal eyed me suspiciously. "Am I gonna like what you're about to do?"

"You'll hate me for the rest of my life."

By the corner of the eye, I saw her lips curving on a quick smile. "I thought so."

When I found what I was looking for, I increased the volume, making Zhalia's favorite kind of music echoing through the car.

"Sing!" I yelled, so she could her me.

"What?"

"Sing!"

Zhalia looked at me like if I was crazy. "No way!"

"Why?"

She crossed her arms. "I'm absolutely not going to sing alone! I'd rather die!" She then looked me from feet to head, a teasing smile across her face. "But I'd accept if you'd sing with me!"

"I'm driving!"

"And I'm almost sleeping!" She retorted, with a pleading brightness on her hazel eyes.

I sighed, watching her beautiful smile illuminating her features. Without anything else to do, I started to sing the lyrics from "Highway to Hell". Seconds later, Zhalia joined me, both laughing at our ridiculous scene.

**Valentina's P.O.V.**

It was eight o'clock in the morning when I woke up, Tom's rhythmic breathe against my back.

Slowly, to not wake him up, I sat up on the bed and searched for my phone above the bedside table. I then searched for Danty's number and when I found it, I called him.

"Hello?" He said, under the sound of music and a woman giggling.

"Hi, it's me, Val." The music suddenly stopped, as also the giggle. "Did I interrupt something?"

"No, no. I'm just driving, so you're on the speaker." My brother added then, clenching his teeth:

"So please, don't say anything stupid."

I rolled my eyes, asking myself if Dante really believed that I could keep my mouth shut. "So, how are things with your Lady? Did she take the plane or is she going to spend Christmas with us?"

In the next seconds, I just heard my brother and his friend whispering words to each other. I heard a frustrated sigh, before the feminine voice said:

"Oh, hi. I must be the Lady you're talking about, right?" Demanded a feminine voice.

In that moment, I couldn't help but screech like Sarah did every time her favorite band appeared on the TV.

"_Dio_ _mio_! Finally, has he told you that he lov..."

Dante cut me off, before I could embarrass him. "Everything's alright, thanks for calling Val. Me and Zhalia arrive there in three hours. Goodbye."

"W-wait! Dante!" It was already too late. Dante had already hung up the phone.

But it didn't matter. He was bringing Zhalia home!

I got up from the bed and headed to the windows, which were covered by the white curtains. I pulled them aside, and the bedroom came automatically more illuminated, with the sunbeams invading the room.

Softly, I seated beside Tom, watching him sleeping peacefully, with the firsts sunbeams of the day making his black hair dark as night turn to a dark brown color.

I lowered my lips to his left hear, whispering him:

"Honey, it's time to wake up. Dante is coming with Zhalia."

Tom just moaned a small "Hmm" and rolled a little on the bed. I sighed, wishing that Vincent could cry during the day, and not during the night, like he made the previously one. That's the reason that me and my husband looked like zombies, while our baby was sleeping around the corner, not caring that his parents were dying for a good night of sleep.

I sighed. After two kids, I should be already accustomed to the routine of being mom of a baby.

But I wasn't.

"Tom, wake up. We have visits and the kids will be awaked in one hour."

Tom covered himself with the blanket, trying to stop the sunshine from hitting his face. "Great, then I'll wake up when the kids also do it."

God, I swear that sometimes, he could be just like a child.

"Tom!" I throw the blankets to the floor and I slapped his arm.

"Ouch!"

"I'll take a shower and if when I return to this bedroom you're still on this bed, I swear that I'll kill you."

A teasing smile crossed his lips. "Oh, really? I'd love to see you trying." Before I could do something, Tom pulled me into his arms, kissing me.

Gosh, who was I lying to? I couldn't be mad at him. Especially if he kissed me like that.

We broke apart, he smiling triumphantly and me blushing, because I knew that he knew that a kiss was enough to make my heart melt.

"You're terrible." I stated, smiling.

"But you like it."

I rolled my eyes and kissed him softly on the lips, before I rushed to the bathroom.

That would be the best day ever.

* * *

**Zhalia's P.O.V.**

_That would be the worst day ever._

This what I was thinking the moment the BMW stopped in front of the iron gates, connected to two tall walls made of stone.

Dante opened his window and pressed the bell, smiling at the camera that was pointing at us. Some moments later, a childish voice came out from the intercom, making Dante's smile open even more.

"Uncle Dante? Is it really you?" Dante nodded in confirmation. "Oh my god. Mom! Uncle and his girlfriend arrived! Quick! Come here!"

My eyes almost got out of the skull. I looked at Dante, wishing to inquire what that was. My teammate, embarrassed, just looked away, trying to hide the redness on his cheeks.

Now I was curious. What the heck did he say to his family about me? That I was his girlfriend?

Wait a sec, this wasn't a crazy plan like those you see in the movies, right? You know, when a guy is getting old and since he wants to please his family, he says to them that a friend of his is his girlfriend.

Gosh, please tell me that I wasn't about to enter in a lame romantic comedy. I'd rather that someone shoot me right away.

Dante cleared his throat before he turned his attention to the intercom, trying at all costs to avoid my gaze.

I swear the if I'd discover that I was his fake girlfriend, I'd break his friggin' nose.

"Kevin? Could you please open the gates?" He asked, on a sweet tone of voice.

Why didn't he ever talk to me in that tone? It's not like I cared, ok? But why was he just so sweet to the kid?

And before you ask, no. I wasn't jealous of a little brat.

"Sure, uncle!"

Not many seconds later, the gates opened slowly and the car traversed a steep road covered by ice and snow, which made the car slip a bit. I looked out from my window and saw that we were surrounded by the woods, the trees undressed, with its weak branches at the mercy of the cold weather.

Five minutes later, when the car stopped in front of the Victorian mansion, I was almost jaw-dropped.

Was Dante rich?

I was about to make a sarcastic remark, ready to extort some information, but Dante wasn't in his seat anymore.

I stood there a little, trying to unveil how he did that. I was the one who was a spy, so I should be the one who knew how to disappear without make any noise.

The mystery was solved when my door was opened by Dante, who offered a hand to help me get out.

Of course. When he wanted to be a gentleman, he could do anything he wanted to.

I rolled my eyes, before I accepted his soft hand and cursed when felt my belly squirm, feeling his touch.

"_Not now, Zhalia. Just stop_.", I thought to myself, taking a deep breath.

"Ready to meet the family?" He asked, dropping my hand.

I didn't know why, but when he made that, I felt a bit sad. I wanted to feel his touch a little more time.

"Ready." _To sign my dead sentence_, I added, mentally.

Dante smiled before he opened the mouth, wanting to tell something. Unfortunately, we were interrupted by the sound of the doors opening aggressively.

Immediately, a little boy and a teenage girl jumped to his arms, squeezing him like if he was a teddy bear.

Well, that was a good start. At least, they were entertained preventing him from breathing and not begging him to make me go away. I thought that that was because they didn't really looked at me, because when they'd do it, they'd just be terrified.

Hey, it's not my fault, ok? Children just not like me because I had this angry face, like they said. One of my friend's son said that I looked like a witch.

So, yeah. Little brats not like me.

Which made what happen next seemed weirder.

"Hi, guys. How are you?"

Almost immediately, two voices began to talk at the same time. Me, feeling like an outsider, stepped back a little, watching amused how Dante tried to pay attention to the kids, even if he was just hearing half of what they were saying.

"And Eric offered me…"

"Veronique asked me to be her boyfriend, uncle! And then I…"

"My best friend cheated on me with…"

"A huge chocolate cake and…"

"She then said it was an accident but I saw them…"

"Watching the nature channel. It was gross, uncle!"

Dante sighed before he pleaded to the kids to stop. He then waved in my direction, making two pairs of blue eyes turn to me.

After a minute of looking me feet to head, the children directed they gaze to Dante.

"Is she your girlfriend, Uncle Dante?" Asked the red-haired girl, chewing a chewing gum.

Before the man could respond, the little boy had already done it: "Of course she is! Uncle only chooses beautiful women to be his girlfriend."

Dante ran a hand through his hair, before he told me, ignoring the boy's comment:

"Zhalia, these are my nephews, Kevin and Kate." When Dante pleaded with his eyes for me to get closer, I took two big steps in their direction and smiled a little, trying not to scare the kids, like I usually did.

Surprisingly, Sarah approached and hugged me.

"Welcome to the Vales. The craziest family on planet Earth."

"Oh... Thanks." I said, returning the embrace awkwardly.

Wow, that was… Strange.

Next, Kevin, the little boy who seemed like a mini Dante, except for his darker hair and his eyes, ran to my legs and hugged them, not being tall enough for hug me in the arms.

Again, kind of awkwardly, I patted his silky hair, still not believing that the kids didn't ran away from me.

It felt odd, but also good.

And when I saw Dante's smile, it felt even better.

Kevin broke the hug some moments later, with a grin stuck on his thin lips. Then he directed his look at his uncle.

"She is really pretty! And, like Katarina, has huge boobs!" Exclaimed the boy, pointing at my chest.

Ok, now I wasn't so happy. The boy was what? Eight years old? And was already talking about those kind of things? I really wanted to know what kind of school he was attending to.

Oh, and… Katarina? Who was she? Some strumpet? And before you ask, no. I wasn't jealous. I didn't need to feel that towards a Barbie doll. And I bet that it was all fake. Her boobs were all made of silicone, of that I'm sure.

Dante ran a hand through his hair, visibly ashamed.

"Sarah, could you please tell me where your mother is?" He demanded, trying to change the subject. "I really need to talk to her."

The girl grinned devilish. "Oh, she was just hanging mistletoes in every corner of the house and my poor dad got dragged around."

Mistletoes? I _really_ needed to talk to Dante.

"Thanks. Me and Zhalia will enter in a second, ok? But you and Kev can get going."

Sarah looked at her uncle suspiciously, but when she looked at me, that devilish grin appeared on her face again.

She took his brother by the hand. "Dobbiamo andare, Kev. Lo zio vuole parlare da solo con la sua ragazza."

Oh, now they were talking in Italian so I couldn't understand them? Well played, Mr. Vale. But you're forgetting that I know how to speak a little of Italian.

But unfortunately, the red-haired girl talked so fast that I couldn't catch anything of what she said.

Damn.

Kevin seemed like he wanted to stay, but he finished by entering in the house with his sister, leaving me and Dante alone, with the first snowflakes starting to fall around us.

He put his bare hands inside his jacket's pockets and turned his gaze to the floor.

Oh, no. He wouldn't escape so easily.

"What has just happened?" I asked, hands resting on my hips.

"You met my nephews." And without any order word, he headed to the car trunk and opened it.

Really? Was that his attempting to change the subject?

I crossed my arms and cursed under my breath, before I followed him.

"I'm talking about the girlfriend thing and the mistletoes! What the fuck did you say to them about me?"

Dante sighed, taking his black suitcase of.

"I'm sorry ok?" He said, turning face to face with me, his eyes sparkling in anger. "The problem is that my sister loves to be a matchmaker, and so, when I told her that I wanted to ask you to spend Christmas with me, with us, she thought that we were more than just friends."

Dante open his mouth again, like he wanted to say something, but then quickly shut it. He then proceeded on pulling lots of bags, probably with Christmas gifts inside, ignoring me completely.

Was he mad that I didn't like people to say that we were a couple?

_"Nah, that's impossible."_ ,I thought, trying to avoid at all costs what part of me knew it was the truth.

I sighed, before I put a hand on Dante's shoulder, so he could pay attention to me.

"Look, I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't mean it, but every time I open my mouth, it just comes out stupid things." I confessed, while Dante slowly stopped what he was doing to look at me.

"The problem" I continued, not managing to look away from his magnetic amber eyes or to pull my hand away from his shoulder. "Is that I'm like an open book for you. You know everything about me; both good and bad things. It just scares me that it's not the same thing when it comes to you. I didn't even know that you had a family until this dawn. I didn't even know that your parents…" I didn't say it, because it was very clear and because I also didn't want to bring the subject back. "You know. And I'm scared because of that. Because you're like a mystery to me and I'm tired of that. I'm tired of being afraid of the day that you will use what you know against me."

Dante looked at me, like he couldn't believe what I was saying. "Zhalia…"

I cut his speech. "I know, I know. It's stupid, but I can't get this feeling out of my mind. I'm sorry."

Dante took my another hand and squeezed it slightly. "Let's make a deal. This night, after dinner, we'll meet at my bedroom to talk about this, ok?"

I nodded, making him smile.

"Great."

It was just sometime before, when I was helping him with the bags, that I revised what he said.

God,_ his_ bedroom. I've just accepted to meet him at _his_ bedroom.

What have I done?

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**Thanks to everyone who reads, reviews or fav's this story.**

**You are really really amazing. :)**

**P.S.: Just one or two more chapters and then it's done.**


	3. Just a kiss

**I know that it's too late for a Christmas fic, so please, let's just ignore the timeline, ok?**

**Anyways, happy new year everyone! :D**

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_Chapter 3- Just a kiss_

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**Zhalia's P.O.V.**

After I've helped Dante with the bags, he left me alone at the living room, saying that he would search for his sister and her husband.

I looked around, and made my decision.

Dante really was rich.

The room was decorated on a chic and sophisticated way, with its chairs, coffee tables and furnishings ornamented. The curtains where white, matching with the carpet below the sofa, and let some sunshine enter, illuminating the division. The Christmas tree was huge, almost reaching the ceiling and at its feet were lots of presents, ready to be unwrapped.

I sat on a wooden chair in front of the fireplace, watching the wood burn slowly, casting some flames to the air. It was kind of fascinating, you know? The way the fire could consume everything, leaving just a trail of ashes behind.

It kind of remembered me of my life. Just some pile of ashes, a life without any sense.

I sighed, before looking at the painting that was above the fireplace.

It was oil painted and framed by a gorgeous gold frame. The couple represented conveyed an aura of peace and love, and those faces…

Could it be that they were Dante's parents?

I looked attentively at the woman's features. She was absolutely beautiful. She had this bright curled brown hair and amber eyes, while her red lips were curved on a genuine smile.

I could swear that I've seen those eyes before.

Then there was the auburn man. He was handsome, at his own way, with his piercing blue eyes. But he seemed like an ice statue. He had the corners of his mouth tense, like if he didn't know how to smile and the hands behind his back.

On some way, he looked a lot like a military.

I looked again around the room and, by the corner of the eye, I saw a set of white shelves at the other end of the room. Before I could even noticed, my legs were already getting up, walking towards it, like if some invisible force was pushing me.

My gaze fell under the framed photo of a little auburn boy, who was riding a bicycle.

Dante… Even as a little kid, he looked cute.

Knowing that I was alone, I let myself smile a bit, thinking of what kind of little boy he had been.

Probably an adventurer, due to the scratches he had on his bare arms. He seemed to be that kind of boy who loved to climb trees and getting into trouble.

Who would say that Mr. Dante "Responsible" Vale had been a rebel?

"He really was a cute little boy, don't you think?"

The feminine voice coming from behind startled me, and I quickly turned around.

"Oh, hi." The red-haired woman walked towards me, with a smile on her lips. "I'm Dante's sister, Valentina. But you can call me by Val."

My cheeks turned to a dark shade of red and I felt like I couldn't breathe.

God, he was his sister. _Dante's_ sister.

"Oh, I… I didn't meant to be around gossiping. I'm s-sorry." I mumbled, cursing my stupidity. I didn't know why, but that woman made me uneasy. Probably because she was Dante's sister and I wanted to make a good impression.

Which I surely didn't.

Valentina looked me from head to toes, before she, for my surprise, hugged me.

"Oh, don't you worry. Now you're part of the _famiglia_." She said, with a strong Italian accent, while squeezing me.

I gently taped her back, thinking that she wasn't like the monster that would eat me alive in which I made her.

Damn, now I felt even more embarrassed.

Valentina let me go after some more minutes, her smile still stuck on her face.

"God, you really are just like my brother described you." She looked around, making sure that no one was around, before she proceeded:

"Don't tell Danty that I told you this, but… _arri_! Since he first met you, he doesn't shut up about you. I mean, you really seem like a nice _persona_, but after two years hearing how much especial you were… I kinda got sick of it."

I was speechless.

He really did talk about me that much?

Unfortunately, before I could ask Val, Dante himself appeared at the entrance, and, when he saw that his sister was with me, his eyes widened a bit.

He quickly walked towards us, his gaze saying that Valentina was in trouble.

"Danty!" Val jumped to his arms when she saw him, and I had to do a huge effort to not just laugh at his face.

Or to his nickname.

"It's so good to see you. Me and Zhalia were just talking about you."

Dante returned the hug, smiling nervously . "Gosh, I'm already scared." He then turned to me:

"What did this nutty told you?"

Val let Dante go, punching him playfully on the shoulder. "Don't push it, or else, I'll be obliged to tell Ms. Moon about what happened between you and Giovanna Santiago on the 8th grade."

"You wouldn't dare."

Val narrowed her almond eyes, crossing her arms with a smart-ass appearance. "Just watch."

I grinned inwardly, thinking of how those two were such a pair. They seemed to be the typical brother and sister who spent their lives pissing each other, but that in the end of the day, just loved the other.

Watching them two made me think of how it would be like if I had a little brother or sister. Maybe we'd be just like Val and Dante, or maybe we'd be the totally opposite.

Unfortunately, I'd never found out.

"So, we'll open the presents in about…" Val looked at her wristwatch, before she proceeded:

"Twenty minutes. You two could do a little tour, so Zhalia won't get lost when she's alone."

Dante turned his golden eyes to me, looking for an approval.

Without anything to do, I just nodded. "Yeah, sure. It'd be great."

Valentina looked at us, smiling from ear to ear. I don't know why, but something on her gaze told me that she was already making weeding plans to me and her brother.

I shivered a little at this thought.

Creepy.

"Good. See you later, you two lovebirds."

I opened my mouth, ready to protest, but Valentina had already got out of the room, her red _stilettos_ echoing through the division.

I quickly turned my head to Dante.

"You!" I said, on an accusative tone. "Where the Hell did you put me in?"

"She's my sister. It's not like she…" Dante made a pause, analyzing his words. "Ok, maybe she's a little like Hell but…"

"Did you saw her look? It was like she was making weeding plans. For us!"

Dante rolled his eyes, ignoring my remark.

He extended an arm on my direction, inviting me to entwine his arm with mine. "Shall we?"

I bit my lip, not knowing if that was a good idea. But then I just thought "_Screw it. It's Christmas!_" and did it.

And seeing Dante's smile, I knew I've done the right thing.

We got out of the living room by some glazed doors that were behind me, and exited to the balcony.

"Wow, this is beautiful." I whispered, looking to the landscape before my eyes.

The garden was a kingdom of ice, with its plants sleeping due to the merciless cold of December, waiting to the spring to come so they could awake from their eternal sleep. In the middle of it, a huge frozen lake rested, reflecting the sunbeams coming from the sky.

I looked around and, on my right side, I saw a flight of Marble stairs, leading to the garden.

"Could we go down there?" I demanded, pointing with my chin to the gorgeous masterpiece underneath us.

Dante smiled at me warmly, making the cold air disappear completely for some seconds. "Sure."

Now, remember the part when I said that I've done the right thing? Forget it.

We were about to go downstairs when I felt something cold falling over my nose. I looked upwards and I froze, watching a green mistletoe hanging on the ceiling.

And that wasn't the worst part.

Dante, noticing that I was completely still looking at the air, followed my gaze.

When he saw the plant he locked eyes with me, and our cheeks went from a pale white to a deep red.

I wasn't stupid. I knew that the tradition said that when two people were under a mistletoe, they had to kiss each other.

A flashback from some minutes earlier, when Sarah said that her mother had dragged her dad to help her hanging mistletoes all over the house made me curse under my breath.

If I wasn't so fascinated by Dante's eyes in that moment, I'd already enter through those doors and killed her.

"So…" I began, not knowing what else to say.

"So…"

Yup, Dante was really helpful.

I shifted weight from one leg to the other, feeling very nervous. I'm sure that if I had eat something at breakfast, I'd already throw up.

"It wouldn't change our partnership, would it?" Dante asked, after some moments of awkward silence.

I decided to play a little with him, when I realized he was very upset with the scene. To be honest, I also was. I was afraid that maybe, if we'd kiss, our friendship would become weird and awkward. And I didn't want that to happen, but kiss him… That was something I've always dreamt about, and only let myself admit it in that moment, when that seemed to be about to happen.

"Of course it would." I said, with a false serious tone. "Imagine that you kiss very badly. I'd never be able to look at you on the same way."

We smiled a little at my horrible joke. But c'mon! Don't judge me. Just thinking about kissing him made my legs shake uncontrollably, so imagine what it's like to know that that's about to happen.

"But… I think it wouldn't change. I mean, it's just a kiss, right?" I asked, my heart almost jumping out of my chest.

"I guess so."

Silence fell under us, only being broken by the sound of the cool wind shaking the nude trees of the woods around the garden.

"You know, if you wanna do it, that's fine by me." I remarked, looking at my black boots. Even I, the best spy of the Foundation, was ashamed of some things. "I mean, it's just a kiss. It isn't like this'll continue on your bedroom."

Ah, ah. Little did I know that I was terrible wrong. But that's a story for later.

"Guess you're right."

Silence.

I sighed, feeling extremely frustrated. I was one of the elite seekers of the Foundation. My life was full of danger, action and adrenaline but when it comes to kiss Dante Vale…

I shivered under my flannel jacket, and it was just then that I became aware that we were there since about ten minutes earlier, and that my body was trembling all over, not to mention that I couldn't feel my nose.

I was about to just get out of there, mad at him from not having kissed me, when I felt a warm hand landing on my right cheek, followed by a finger caressing it.

I conceded myself an authorization to smile, letting the cold Zhalia behind during that moment.

I wanted Dante to kiss the warm Zhalia, the one who knew how to smile and laugh, and not the one who was cold like an iceberg. In short, I just wanted the Zhalia who I only revealed to Dante to be kissed by him.

Knowing what was coming, I put my arms around his neck, never locking away from his hypnotizing gaze.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked, still not comfortable with it.

I simply nodded and, before I could say a simple "yes", Dante's lips crushed against mine, making my legs fail me. Fortunately, as if he already knew his effect on me, he surrounded my waist with a strong arm, preventing me from falling.

Gosh, I could almost swear that I saw fireworks.

What began as a small kiss grew to a passionate and lust one, and, even if my rational part of the brain was screaming at my mouth to stop that madness, I wasn't strong enough to do it. Now that I've tasted it, I was addicted.

Before I could even be aware of it, I was being pulling against a cold wall, and my legs curled on his waist, pushing him even more in my direction.

"Uncle?"

We abruptly split apart when we heard the childish voice of Kevin giggling.

Dante and I exchanged glances before we, ashamed of what have just happened, looked away.

"Mommy told me to go search for you. We'll unwrap the gifts." The little boy looked at me, then at his uncle, before he smiled on smart-ass way. "You two were making out, weren't you?"

My cheeks turned redder, and my eyes widened, thinking that if…

"Kev, do me a favor and don't say anything to your mother, ok?" Demanded Dante, almost in a beg.

I only could imagine what Valentina would do if she'd discovered that me and her brother were… Kissing.

I grinned inwardly, liking that word. Yup, I've kissed Dante Vale and damn, it felt good as Hell.

"Ok, I'll do that but…" Kevin extended a hand in his uncle's direction. "My services come with a cost."

I rose an eyebrow. How old was he again? Because I'm sure that an eight year old couldn't be so smart.

Dante sighed, before he took from the pocket of his trousers a five euro note and handed it to the auburn boy.

Kev eyed Dante, suspiciously. "Really, uncle? Do you think that this is enough to buy a new game?"

Ok, I'll admit it. Maybe I liked the boy. I mean, he was smart, and knew how to blackmail people to gain some money.

Dante took a deep breath in order to calm himself, before he handed another note to the kid.

Kevin smirked triumphantly. "It was a pleasure to do business with you, gentleman." He then looked at me, before nodding as a goodbye. "Lady."

Seconds later, Kevin entered to the living room hopping, leaving me and Dante behind.

"So…" He began, probably not knowing what else to say.

"So…" I put my hands on my pockets, trying to gain some time. "Everything's fine?"

"I'm fine if you're fine."

I nodded. "Well, I'm fine. Really fine."

"Then I'm fine too."

I smiled to him and Dante did the same.

We stayed some more moments like this, until he pointed to the white glazed doors. "You know, we should get going. Val is waiting for us."

I moistened my lips. "Yes, we should."

But sometimes, there's a slightly difference between "should" and "do". That's why Dante pulled me to his embrace on more last time, kissing me fervently. And about me… I kissed him back with the same passion he did, already addicted to the taste of those lips, even if in that time, we weren't under a mistletoe.

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**I hope that you've liked it and remember that a review is really appreciated ;)**

**I just love to know what are your thoughts about the story so far :)**


	4. The start of something new

**Sorry, sorry, so sorry! I know I'm terrible at meet deadlines, but I'm kind of depressed… School starts Monday, which means that my joy and liberty are both dead, and that distracts me. **

**Anyway, I'll try to finish this story as quickly as possible and then, I'll be totally committed with Love is for fools.**

**And also thanks to 2Awesome4life for making me laugh my ass off. I still can't forget the Disney DVD scene… :D**

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_Chapter 4- The start of something new_

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**Zhalia's P.O.V.**

The rest of the morning went well, I think. Apart from the moment when Val introduced me to her little baby, Vincent (the little thing began to cry) or when Kevin almost told to his mother what he saw at the balcony, it all went for the best. About me and Dante, we even shared glances from time to time and once in a while, I'd even giggle a bit.

I don't know how, but that damned man had the power to make me feel like a silly teenager, and that scared me.

We had just finished lunch and I sat on the couch, reading a book while my partner and Tom were talking about work. I mentally thanked for the fact that Val was too busy with Vincent, or else, I'm almost sure that she'd made me die of embarrass.

Minutes later, Kevin and his sister entered, the two of them dressed like if they were going outside, with hats, gloves, scarves and warm coats, besides the ice skates in hand.

Dante and Val's husband stopped talking and turned to the kids.

"Are you two heading to the lake?" Asked the first one, smiling genuinely.

It was kind of weird, but since we arrived at the mansion, I noticed that Dante relaxed a bit, maybe because he knew he was home, next to the people who loved him.

"Yep. You and your Lady wanna come?" Asked Sarah, with the same creepy glint in her eyes that her mother gave me.

Dante glanced at me, like if demanding my opinion.

Oh, boy. Since the kiss, when he'd look at me with those golden eyes, my mind would be dragged to the memory of the taste of his lips, the butterflies in my belly, the way he kissed me or even…

_"Ok, ok. I get it. Now calm down." _I thought, trying to shake the image out of my mind.

I took a deep breath, before I shrugged, trying to seem the most ignorant as possible. "Do as you please."

"Great." He then turned his attention to the girl. "Sarah, could you please go to the garage and see if you find two more pairs of ice skates?"

"Yeah, sure." The girl immediately got out of the room, her brother following her like if he was a cute little puppy. It was just then that I realized what he demanded.

"Wait, are we going to skate? In the ice?" I inquired, pointing towards the balcony which gave access to the garden.

Dante seemed a bit surprised. "Yes. Is there any problem?"

I opened my mouth and quickly shut it. How could I explain to him that I never learned to ski? I mean, it was totally shameful that someone like me, a highly trained spy, who knew how to do a little of everything, didn't knew how to ski.

"You know… Actually, I don't…" I passed a hand through the back of my neck, trying to buy some time. "I don't know how to ski." I confessed, almost in a whisper.

Dante sat beside me, which made me feel a shiver down my spine.

"Really?" He said, incredulous.

I widened my eyes a little. "Wasn't that what I just said?"

Before Dante could answer, Tom spoke. "You know, I probably should go help the kids, so… See you later." He then waved a goodbye, before he vanished into the halls of the house.

Really? I thought that Tom was a good guy, but it seemed like he was in Val's team. The one named _"Hey, since we're bored, why not turn Zhalia and Dante into a couple, huh?"_

I sighed, cursing Dante's family. I think that I'd prefer a sister who would eat me alive, instead of one who wanted so badly to put us together.

Silence fell under the room, and I bit my lip.

I didn't want to admit it, but he was right in being afraid of kissing me. That just aroused unresolved business between us and our friendship became so awkward. I was feeling so... I don't know. Maybe guilty or sad or... Agh! I don't know.

"Look" He said, after some moments, waking me up from my daydreams. "If you don't mind, I could teach you."

"Teach me?" An image of me falling in top of him passed through my mind. Mmm… That was tempting. I mean, the fact that I'd learn how to skate was tempting, not the one that I'd fall over him and we'd kiss again. Nope, totally nope.

"Ok. But if I land with my butt on the ice, I'll kill you."

Dante grinned. "Deal."

* * *

"I'll kill you, Dante!"

Dante laugh and extended me both his hands. "C'mon, it was just a little fall."

He helped me getting up, and I punch him playfully on the shoulder, losing some balance as a punishment. "Just a little fall? It was the 10th time!" I tried to walk away from him, but I only managed to almost fall. Again.

Dante quickly grabbed me by the wrists, before I could perform my 11th epic fail.

"Wow, easy there." He said, helping me gain some balance.

"This is all your fuckin' fault. If you didn't drag me to this friggin' place, I'd be sat on the couch, reading a nice book, and not falling and falling all over again."

Dante throw me a doubtful look. "Really? In case you don't remember, my sister is inside the house. Do you really prefer her annoying company instead of mine?"

I ignored his question, so he couldn't smirk triumphantly at his winning.

"But I also don't like the fact that I'm being humiliated by your nephews." I stated, pointing at Sarah and Kevin, who were far away from us skating like if they were pros.

Dante grinned. "Who would say that the legendary Zhalia Moon could be jealous of a bunch of kids? I think they'd feel flattered, if they'd know."

I rolled my eyes, before I took a deep breath and grabbed his hands tightly, preparing myself to pull away from him some seconds later.

"Be careful." He advised, seeing that my legs were trembling.

I placed my right leg behind me and then the left one, trying to walk backwards.

"Try to slide a bit, Zhalia."

I grabbed his hands more tightly, afraid of falling. "Slide? And how the heck do I do that?"

"I don't know. You just need to slide, it isn't that complicated."

I narrowed my hazel eyes. "Well, in case you don't know, not everyone spends their childhood on a mansion with a frozen lake." I almost slipped, but I managed to not land my butt in the ice. "Oh, and before I forget, you'd really be a great teacher." I added, sarcastically.

"And you'd be an equally great student." He retorted sincerely, ignoring my provocation.

I sighed deeply and tried to focus, but that only seemed to worsen the situation. I started to feel like a pillow, with all of those thick clothes protecting me from the cold.

"Easy, easy."

Ok, if Dante would continue on supporting me like if he as a cheerleader, I'd punch him. I didn't want his "Be careful, you may fall" or "It's not complicated. You just have to be patient". I only wanted to be capable of doing that shit. And I also couldn't help but feeling like Dante wasn't having a good time. I mean, he knew very well how to skating, but instead of being amusing himself, he was with me, attempting to do the impossible.

I exhaled and feeling defeated, I dropped his gloved hands. Then I proceeded to do not so much of a ceremonially landing on the ice, giving up.

"What are you doing?" Demanded my partner, crouching in front of me.

"Quitting. I'm officially done, and you should do the same. Go play with the kids."

Dante ran his hands through his face, like if he was tired of putting up with me. Even Dante Vale, a merciful and patient man had his limits.

"Zhalia, I'm not leaving you behind." He affirmed, after some moments of silence. "I said that I'd teach you, and that's what I'll do."

"But why? I mean, you'll only be here during two weeks. You see me almost every day of the year, but you only have fifteen days to devote to your family. So why spent precious time with me, trying to teach something I'll never be able to do?" I closed my eyes and sighed. "Look, just go play with the kids. I'm sure that they'd love to be with their uncle."

"Fine." He said, making me feel relieved. This is, until he added :

"But only after I finish my task with you."

My eyes widened a bit. "Dante…"

"Forget it. I said you'd learn and you will." He offered me his hands. "C'mon. We have work to do."

Who was I kidding with? Of course he'd never go back on a promise. The only thing I could do was what he asked, the fast as possible so he could go to his family.

"Just one more time." I told him, accepting his hands.

Dante smiled and helped me getting up, even if that didn't worth it.

"Dante!"

I only had time to scream before I totally lost my balance, which made me began to slip uncontrollably in his direction. I went against him hard and next thing I know, he's hugging me so I wouldn't be hurt. Of course that he was the one who landed with his back to the floor and I landed on top of him, my head curled around his shoulder.

I gulped, feeling an uneasy feeling on my belly.

_"Ok, this is really awkward. Should I just get up or stay like this? Or should I ask him if he's ok?"_ I thought, my heart pounding on a very unhealthy way.

What should I do?

_ "Ok, don't panic. Just breathe and… Who do I want to lie to? I can't breathe right now! I just need to do… something but I can't think clearly if he's covering me like if he was some blanket! I mean, I'm on top of him and he's hugging me by my back. What do I do?"_

Some moments of silence passed, until one of us broke the silence.

"Zhalia." He said, on a low voice, so sexy that made me feel shivers all over my spine. "If you want to get up, you just need to ask."

I relaxed a bit, now that I knew that he also wanted me to stay like this… Right? I mean, if he asked me that, it was because he wanted to be like that if I was comfortable with it, right?

I closed my eyes and made a prayer, pleading that what I was going to do next wouldn't be a mistake.

I breathed deeply, attempting to gain some courage, before I rose my head so I could face him.

"You know, I like to be like this." I whispered, our lips only inches apart. "It's nice, I guess."

"And you know what I like?" He asked me, receiving as an answer a negative nod. "You."

I erected an eyebrow, ready to ask if he was talking on a friendly or in a special way, but I was interrupted by his lips crushing against mine.

I smiled, thinking that maybe, just maybe, that could be the start of something new.

* * *

**Kevin's P.O.V.**

I ran in uncle's direction, ready to tell him of how Sarah throw me a snowball at my face.

Oh, she'd be so screwed…

"Uncle! Sarah jus…" My voice broke when I saw Zhalia on top of uncle, the two doing that disgusting thing that my parents did when they thought I wasn't watching. "What are you doing?"

They immediately broke apart, blushing and mumbling something about first being Lok and now me.

Oh, boy. That was such an opportunity to extort some more money to uncle. If I'd know about this earlier, I'd invited his girlfriend to spend more vacations with us. I'm almost certain that that would have made me rich.

I grinned, and extended them my hand, sighing theatrically. "You all know how this works. You pay, and I stay quiet."

"You really are a terrible kid." Remarked Zhalia, smirking.

"He's just like I was at his age." My uncle said, taking from his pocket a bill. "Here you go, champion."

I took that precious paper from his hands. "Thanks uncle. If you two continue like this, I may gain more in two weeks than what mom gives me in one year." I smiled and leaved, smiling broadly.

I really started to like uncle's girlfriend.

_"Wait a sec. If they're dating…"_

I quickly turned around to the two lovebirds, who were trying to get up.

"Hey, Ms. Zhalia! Are you my aunt?"

The blue-haired woman would fall if it wasn't for the strong grip of my uncle. "E-excuse m-me?"

"I mean, since you two don't stop kissing, you are dating, right? So I thought that maybe, you're now my aunt." I explained, like if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Zhalia opened her mouth, then shut it and then looked at uncle, pleading for help.

"Kev, why don't you go play with your sister?" My uncle asked, blushing due to my question. "You two could build a snowman."

I started to smile while an idea formed on my head. Uncle was right. I could go build a snowman and then, I could ask mom or dad to cast a spell, so he could talk and walk. He'd be just like Olaf, from that "Frozen" movie I saw on the other day.

"You're right, uncle! Thanks!" And without caring anymore about Ms. Zhalia and her degree of kinship, I skated towards the place where my sister was, ready to create my own Olaf with her.

* * *

**Talking about Olaf… HE WAS SO FREAGGIN' FLUFFY! I just wanted to take him home with me and give him cookies and milk! HE WAS JUST… AWWW!**

**(Takes a deep breath) And now that my moment of crazy fan girl disappeared, let me say that I hope you enjoyed the chap and sorry for the lame scene. Remember that a review is really, really helpful and makes me the happiest girl on Earth. ;)**

**See you in the next chapter and until then, a happy 2014 for everyone! :D (Even if I'm five days late)**


	5. Save me

**Before you'll get a guillotine, let me just say that I'm extremely sorry for being such a horrible writer. But put yourself in my shoes for a little second: I'm in the middle of a love triangle right between me, my boyfriend, my best friend (which is a guy) and my boyfriend's best buddy… Ok, maybe that's a love square, but you see what's the point, right? Being a teenager isn't piece of cake, guys…**

**Oh, and before you start reading, let me just say that this chapter may sound a bit crazy, but I was bored and what do I do when I'm like that?**

**Madness, of course ;)**

**But I promise that in the next chapter, you'll discover what made this accident happen and all the answers to your questions. :)**

* * *

_Chapter 5- Save me_

* * *

**Valentina's P.O.V.**

I always hated hospitals. Those horrible places only managed to bring back painful memories which I wanted to put behind my back. However, in New Year's Eve, I saw myself obliged to seat on a green plastic chair beside Dante, with that horrible knot forming on my belly.

I took a deep breath, trying to stop the tears forming in the corners of my eyes, but that only made me capable of inhaling the smell of Death.

A shivered came down my spine at the same time Dante rubbed his tired eyes. It was obvious by the black holes under them that he didn't sleep at all, but I couldn't blame him. After all, Zhalia was in the middle of a surgery, after… Well, after the accident which almost killed her.

If it didn't already.

Truth to be told, I always liked to think that I was an optimistic person. But I also was a realistic one, and was well aware that we've been in that corridor for the last hour and a half and we didn't know if she was going to make it.

Even if it was noticeable that he was trying to get a hold on himself, Dante couldn't. And what scared me the most was that I've only saw him in that state on time in my life, when our parents died.

It was ironical, you know? It was a car crash that stole our parents from him, and now the same kind of accident threat to steal the woman he loved.

I put a hand on my brother's shoulder and squeezed it lightly. "She'll be fine. She's very strong, and you know that." I stated, on a choked tone. It was hard to give hope to a person, but it was even harder to make it when we also needed it. But I was his elder sister. I had to take care of him, to comfort him. He had done the same thing for me twenty years ago, and in that moment it was my turn to be the tough one.

"We had a fight, you know? Before she stormed out of the house." Dante turned his amber gaze to me, and I was able to see the turmoil of emotions in his eyes. "It's my fault."

"No it isn't." I said, before he could go on. "It's nobody's fault. And what does that matter? It isn't because you declare yourself guilty that she's going to be fine. Right now, the only thing we could do is to have Faith on her."

Dante gulped and stared at me for some seconds, before he nodded slightly.

I smiled cheerfully, even if I only wanted to cry. "Good, we just need to believe in her."

* * *

**Zhalia's P.O.V.**

I don't know if it was because of the snow storm, or for the fat tears streaming down my face, but I was really having a hard time for driving. And, like if this wasn't already enough, I could feel the car sliding for the sides due to the white mantle which covered the road.

I know that a person with at least some good sense would be at her house in front of the fireplace, drinking from a cup of hot chocolate, but guess what: I never was such of a good sensed woman. But if you were looking for one, I bet that Marianna Gilberto was the one.

I know what you're thinking in this moment: Who the heck is her? Well, I could tell you, but for that, I'd be obliged to remember of my entire day, until I entered in the Mercedes and got out of the Vale's Manor. And believe me when I say that I only wanted to forget everything.

On a dangerous movement, I accelerated the car even more, without caring for the risk I was putting myself into.

Too bad.

In the next moment, I just know that I lost control of the car and, even if the road was extremely dark and the snow was covering good part of the front glass, I saw the Mercedes getting out of the road.

* * *

When I woke up, the world seemed to be turned downwards. My head felt strange and I could feel every part of my body in agonizing pain.

I remember that my first thought was that I had to get out of there. I had to escape so I could go back to Dante.

I tried to reach my bell to unlock it, but it was jammed.

Ok, I'll admit. In that moment, I panicked a little. I was aware that I was too weak to just throw a spell at it and if I didn't escape, I'd die in that car. And that wasn't the way I expected to celebrate New Year's Eve.

I again tried to unlock it, but I couldn't. For some for god's sake reason, I couldn't unlock that fucking thing.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I knew that starting to swear about a fringing belt locker wouldn't help me at all.

* * *

One thing I discovered in that car is that when you're about to die, you only can think of certain things. Of what you didn't do, of what you didn't say… I don't know if it was because of that, of knowing that I was in big trouble, but in that moment, every single problem in my life seemed to have a solution. And every single discussion seemed to have no significance.

That got me thinking about Dante and our fight. Now that I looked back at that, it really had been stupid. Maybe he was right. Maybe I really was jealous of Marianna. I mean, his ex-girlfriend spending New Year's Eve with us, while all of his family seemed to adore her more than me? Of course that _anyone_ would be a little scared. But that wasn't enough to have such a fight with him.

I remember that some time ago, when I was back in Los Angeles, in a night were I didn't have anything especial to do, I turned on the TV and started zapping through channels. Finally, after what seemed to be like an eternity, there was a program which caught my attention. It was about some of those crazy ancient cultures, where people were sacrificed in horrible ways. There was this torture however that caught my interest, perhaps because it reminded me of the things I've done back at the Organization. In this kind of torture, the victims were hung from the feet and, since the blood would run to their head, the victims wouldn't be able to pass out. Of course that if they stayed in this position for a large amount of time they'd die asphyxiated, but besides that, it was infallible. So, when my eyelashes started to weight a tunneled, I didn't know if it was a good or a bad thing. But, considering my current situation, I guessed it was the second one.

* * *

I opened my eyes, only to find out that I was emerged on a sea of Darkness. Well, I guess it could be worst. At least, the pain I had disappeared and my head didn't felt like I was suffering from ten hangovers at the same time.

"Am I dead?" The question left my lips before I could think much of it, and for my surprise, a shady voice responded me.

"No. At least, not yet."

I turned my head backwards, in the voice's direction, but I only saw a really big nothing.

"Where am I then?" I asked, looking around. I was counting that the voice would say that I was in some kind of 5th dimension, or between the thin line of Life and Death.

"That depends. Where do you think you are?"

"I don't know." I shrugged a bit. "But if I had to take a guess, I'd say that this is some weird place where I'll be obliged to be until someone saves me or until I die."

Silence.

"Well, you're a smart one." Stated the voice, after some time. "But you failed in one part."

"Oh really?" I asked, in a smart-ass tone with my hands resting on my hips, while my lips curved on an arrogant smirk.

"Yes, you are." I felt a cold breeze approaching me and the next thing the voice whispered made me shiver.

"No one's going to save you, Zhalia Moon."

* * *

**So I was listening to "The Death of Me" by Asking Alexandria, and you know what I discovered? Metal music is a great inspiration for writing romances!**

**Now, I know that I probably don't deserve it, but could you please pretty please write a review? *makes puppy eyes* Please? **


	6. Near the Abyss

**Before you start reading this chapter, let me just clarify one thing:**

**I'm a huge fan of Supernatural. So, if by any means this seems to be very similar to the first episode (I think) of the second season, you already know why.**

**Enjoy, and please let me know your thoughts about this ;) **

* * *

_Chapter 6- Near the Abyss_****

* * *

_You could say that she was mad. Really mad. But that wasn't enough to describe how she was feeling._

_Zhalia burst the door open and entered her bedroom, with Dante following close behind. While he softly closed the door behind him, Zhalia began to open her travel case. She then took some of her clothes from the wardrobe and started throwing them at it._

_She just needed to get out of that house. She just wanted to catch a plane to some place far away from him. She knew that it was a mistake to open up to someone, but still, she did it because she wanted to try, because he was especial._

_But that only hurt her._

_"Look, could we please talk?" He begged, approaching the blue-haired woman. He knew that when she was like this, it didn't matter how many times he'd try to reasoning with her. Zhalia was like a bomb in countdown and no one could stop her from exploding._

_"Talk?" She laughed melancholically, while throwing some blouses at the suitcase. "Since when did you talk about inviting your ex to come over, huh?"_

_"Zhalia, please listen to me."_

_"I don't care, Dante. You can do whatever you want from now on. I'm done." She turned to him, anger flaming on her eyes. "But if you want someone who cares, why don't you date Marianna instead of me? She's beautiful, she's smart and has a heart, hasn't she? I think you could say that she's way better than me." _

_Saying this, she closed the suitcase, took it with a hand and headed to the door. However, Dante immediately put himself between her and the door, making impossible for her to escape._

_"Good. This is me doing what I want to do."_

_Zhalia rolled her eyes while crossing her arms. "I begin to think that spending so much time with Kevin turned you into an eight year old."_

_Dante opened his mouth like if he was about to speak, but then quickly shut it. He knew that when it was about Zhalia, things turned totally different compared to the other people. So what best way to reasoning with her than to fight fire with fire?_

_"Could you please shut up with your sarcastic remarks and listen to me?" Zhalia's hazel eyes widened when she heard Dante speak in such a way to her. But she couldn't say she was surprised. After all, everyone had their limits and she had just crossed his when she made a scene in front of his family. _

_Seeing that the woman did shut her mouth, he let himself smirk for a moment. He then put his hands on both her shoulders and shook them lightly. And, even if he had just raised his voice some seconds ago, his voice came on a sweet and soft tone."Listen carefully, okay? I don't love Marianna anymore. She was just my high school sweetheart, but it's over. Now I have you. There's no reason for you to be jealous of her." _

_Zhalia felt a heaviness leaving her heart. But still, she wanted answers. "So why did you invite her? Didn't you think that it would be awkward to have your ex living in the same house as you and your new… girlfriend?"_

_"Well, Marianna hasn't a family. At least, not alive. We made it a tradition for her to spend certain holidays with us. But then she said that she couldn't spend Christmas with us, so I invited you." Dante smiled while saying this, but when he reviewed his last phrase, the smile left his lips. "Wait, I…"_

_Zhalia cut him off, her voice cool as ice. "No, I understand. You wanted to spend Christmas with Marianna, but since she wasn't available, you invited me. Because I'm your second choice, aren't I? Your consolation trophy."_

_"Zhalia, it's not like that."_

_"I already said it, Dante. I understand." She said, with a tone of voice which made Dante's heart freeze. "But it's okay. I'm used to be the second favorite."_

_"Zhalia…" Dante tried to say something, but nothing came up. He was well aware that he had screwed up everything. He knew that Zhalia wasn't someone whose trust and love was easy to gain, but still, he managed to make her open up to him. Unfortunately, he and his friggin' big mouth had destroyed everything. _

_Silence fell under the couple, making the situation even tenser. It seemed like an eternity had passed when Zhalia downed her gaze to the necklace hanging on her neck. The ruby stone seemed a lot darker, like if it was also feeling the sadness of its owner._

_With a quick movement, Zhalia pushed the necklace of her neck and gave it to Dante. Since she didn't count on ever seeing him again, she wanted to get rid of everything who could remind her of him._

_"Goodbye."_

_And without another word, she casted Thoughtspectre and just disappeared in thin air, leaving the man she loved behind._

* * *

**Zhalia's P.O.V.**

When I opened my eyes, I saw myself in a hospital bedroom.

Well, it could be worse, I think. At least, that friggin' voice didn't oblige me to see for the tenth time in that day my last conversation with Dante, which still made me remorse.

I looked around, trying to be well aware of my surroundings. The room was almost totally dark, for exception of the street lamps' light which entered by the windows, casting some shadows all over the place.

But something else caught my attention.

Beside the window, was a bed surrounded by medical engines. And laid in there, was the silhouette of someone. Since I couldn't see her face from where I was standing, I approached the bed.

My blood ran cold when I saw me, _myself_, lying in the bed, covered in bandages, scars and with tubes of some sort in both my wrists, while one of those masks helped me breathing.

"H-How… W-Why…?" I tried to speak, but only some stammers came out of my mouth.

"If you're asking yourself, no, this isn't a dream. This is reality, Zhalia Moon, but sooner or later, you'll no more be part of her."

I turned around, hearing the same voice which haunted me for the last hours. But this time, instead of finding nothing, my eyes met some sort of humanoid shadow. It seemed like a ghost, since I could see through it, but it was just a long, tall and dark shadow with no face.

I think I'd freak out in that right moment if it wasn't for the fact that that thing was probably the only one in the world who could tell me what was happening.

"What happened to me?"

"You had a car crash after leaving the Vale's Manor. Didn't your parents tell you that it's never safe to drive in the middle of a snow storm?" The thing asked, mockingly.

"I know that part but why…" I pointed at the bed, where my body was lying, unconscious, weak. "Why am I like that? Was it that severe?"

"Severe?" The shadow thing laughed without sentiment, making me feel shivers down my spine. "Ms. Moon, your car went off the road and rolled down the hill. It was a miracle that you survived so far. You're in comma, Zhalia Moon. So yes, I think we can say that your situation is in fact very severe."

"I-In c-comma? But that means…"

I left the other words unspoken, like if that would make them disappear. But the shadow carried on for me. "Yes, that's correct. It means that you can wake up tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, the year after… Or you can never wake up at all."

I felt a wave of panick invading me. "You have to do something. I don't want to die. There are so many things… There is Dante… My life can't end just because of a stupid mistake!"

The shadow didn't answer me. Instead, it started to walk towards me.

"Didn't you ever asked, since you met me, who am I?" The shadow thing was just an inch away from me, but it seemed like it wanted to be even closer. "Why am I doing this to you?" When it finished demanding this, the thing was right in front of me. It was a lot taller than me, which seemed to made it more intimidating.

"I-I… You know, screw it. I'd love to know what the fuck you are."

Even if the thing had no face, I could swear that it smiled when it whispered in my ear:

"I'm Death."

* * *

Just a quick note: I'm not sure if the spell which is used to teleport is called Thoughtspecter, okay? And I'm also too lazy to go check it out, so forgive me if I got it wrong ;)


	7. Nightmares

**Three chapters in less than one week? What's going on with me?**

* * *

_Chapter 7- Nightmares_

* * *

The park seemed to be a scene from a frozen world. The white mantle of snow covered the grass and the nude trees mercilessly. Every trace of life disappeared: The colorfoul flowers, the white rabbits... Even the ducks which spend their day floating on the now frozen lake. Everything had disappeared and was now silent, without the singing from the birds echoing in the sky. The woman liked it this way. It was peaceful, beautiful and deadly. Not in a chaotic way, of course. But in a distorted way, it seemed a lot like her.

She felt someone sit beside her in the bench, however, she didn't had to turn around to see who it was.

"She's in danger, you know? Some friends of mine said that Death even came to take her from this world." Stated the man, looking really serious from the first time since she met him. "Sooner or later, she'll be out of this world. For good."

The woman nodded silently, pondering what should be her next move. After some seconds she closed her eyes and sighed, not believing what she was about to ask. "Save her. I don't care what it costs, just do it."

The man's eyes almost popped out of its orbits. He couldn't believe what she said. "Wait. Is this some sort of joke?"

"No, it isn't. I just…" The woman shut her mouth, realizing that she didn't know why she was demanding that. It was pure madness. "You know, forget it. Do it without questioning me, please."

The man looked at her, and without knowing why, the woman felt incommode. It felt like he could see through her soul, like if he could see the true reason why she was asking him to save Zhalia's life.

"Okay." He said, after some time watching her attentively. "I'll call some favors."

The woman smiled, inwardly. "Good. I have to go now. See you later."

The man stayed sit down, watching the woman walking away from him. It was in times like this one that he asked himself if he really knew what was going on in that mind of hers.

* * *

**Zhalia's P.O.V**

"I'm Death."

I stayed there, frozen, like if my feet were glued to the floor. In that moment, it felt like if I was condemned. After all, Death was right in front of me and, now that I thought about it, it said more than one time that I had to die.

It came after me.

"I… There's nothing… I can do?" I asked, feeling defeated for the first time in very years.

"We're talking about Fate in here. No one, even I, can go against it."

I slowly nodded, trying to digest all the information.

In my entire life, I never believed in something like Fate. Instead, I believed in free will. I liked to think that everyone, even me, was the owner of their own lives. That we had the power to choose who we wanted to be, what we wanted to do… But it seemed like I was wrong. "So, is this the end of the road for me?"

"I'm sorry, but yes, it is. It's only a matter of time until your body doesn't bear the injuries anymore."

I, again, nodded. But if I had to die, I only wanted to do one thing. Then, I could go on peace, or at least, the closer possible to peace. "Can I say goodbye to Dante? Please?"

"No." I opened my mouth to protest, but Death interrupted me. "What you're having right now is an out-of-body experience. You're like a ghost, which means that you can't contact with the live."

"But… He's the only thing I have. Can't you do something?"

"No."

I felt my vision became slightly blurred and next thing I know, something warm slide down my cheek. "Please, I'm begging you. I only want one more minute with him."

"Look, you're not my first person with unresolved business which I had to take away from here. But it isn't like you can stay here either. You have to let go."

"But he…"

"Let. Him. Go." The thing said, on a commanding voice which made me feel chills all over my spine.

But if what he said was true, that I had to let him take me away, at least I deserved to say goodbye to Dante.

"Fuck you." The thing slightly lowered its head to the side, like if it was asking himself what I was going to do. So I showed him.

"Augerfrost!" I could feel that the spelt came weaker than usual, but it seemed to work a bit, since Death fell back.

Before the shadow thing could react, I reached the door and tried to open it, but it seemed that it was locked. I shook the doorknob with all the strength I had, but it didn't even move a centimeter.

I heard a cold-hearted laugh behind me and, feeling heaviness on my heart, I turned around.

"I must admit that I did not see that one coming. Guess that I thought that you weren't such a fool for trying such lame tricks on me." After some more moments in which that horrible sound was the only thing that I could listen to, the shadow stopped and turned to me. "Let's make a deal, okay? You can say goodbye to your boyfriend but you'll have to give me something in exchange." Death pointed at the bag where I kept my amulets. "Give me your titans and I'll give you two minutes with your little friend."

I lowered my gaze to the brown bag tied to my leg. During years and years, my titans were the only thing in the world in which I knew I could count on. But then I met Dante. And I didn't have to be alone anymore.

I sighed and opened the bag, taking the amulets out of it.

"Take care of them." I said, extending them to the shadow.

"Great. Now we're ready to go."

Death snapped its fingers and in a matter of microseconds, I saw myself standing in an empty hospital corridor.

"W-Why are we here?"

"He and his sister were to the vending machine nearby. But don't worry. In some seconds, he'll be back."

"Wait. Are you saying that Dante and Valentina are in this hospital?"

"Of course they are. Who do you think found you trapped in that car? Especially on New Year's Eve when everyone is in their houses?"

"Then how did they find me?"

"They were searching for you, of course." Before I could respond, the shadow pointed to the elevator at the end of the corridor. "In fifteen seconds, that door will open and Dante will step in here. Valentina forgot her phone at the car, so she went searching it. You have plenty of privacy with him, since I'll also disappear for a couple of moments. Oh, and before I forget, you are the one saying goodbye to him. He can't hear you nor see you, understood?"

"B-But you said…"

"I said that you could say goodbye to him, not that he also could say goodbye to you." The sound of the elevator stopping at that stage echoed through the hallway and when the doors began to open, Death snapped its fingers and vanished.

Great! Now I could say goodbye to Dante, but it would be the same thing as talking to a wall.

I took a deep breath and looked at the elevator. Dante was walking towards a seat in front of a bedroom. It wasn't need to be a genius to deduce that that was the bedroom in which I… I mean, my body was at.

I sat on a plastic seat beside him, but he didn't notice me. That made me feel like if my heart was sinking.

I touched his face, while tears started to pour. "I'm sorry, so sorry. I know that what I made was a huge mistake, but I only can see it now." Dante didn't even turn around. He just kept on staring blankly at the bedroom's 176 door. I exhaled, trying to gain courage to proceed, without crying anymore. "I only wish that I could go back in time and stop myself from destroying everything. Us. I just wanted you to know that still, even if it lasted for a really short time, I loved to spend my last days on Earth with you and your family. Even if it wasn't always perfect, it was the best thing that happened to me in my all life." I bit my lip, noticing how empty he looked like. I only wanted him to answer me, to hug me one more time saying that everything would be alright.

But he couldn't do it.

"Are you ready to go?"

I turned around and my gaze fell on the shadow thing. "Already?"

"Yes. In case you didn't notice, your tears stole a lot of time from you."

I cleaned my face with the back of my hands, not liking the fact that Death saw me in such a weak state. "Okay, you can take me." I got up from the seat and looked one last time at Dante, before I walked towards the creature.

"It was a beautiful speech, if you let me say it." The shadow remarked, nodding in approval.

"Let's just go, please. I think that the sooner we're done, the less I suffer."

Death nodded one more time and extended me one hand. "You just have to take it and then it's over."

"And what will happen to Dante?"

The creature sighed, probably tired of me. "He'll be fine, I assure you. He just needs time."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. C'mon now. We need to get going."

I closed my eyes and exhaled. Slowly, my hand started to…

"Take your hands out of her, you bastard!"

Next thing I know, Death is being pulled against the wall by a woman all dressed in black.

I took a step back. I don't know why but that woman seemed to irradiate an aura of power and fear.

"Now you shall burn in the flames of Hell!" The woman's black eyes turned red as fire and right before my very eyes, Death began to disintegrate. In the end, all of what was rest of the creature was the scream of it echoing through my ears and the golden dust fluctuating though the corridor.

The woman sighed in fatigue, before she turned to me. "I'm glad to know that you're alright. I'm so sorry for all of this."

Okay, that wasn't totally what I was expecting from the woman who just destroyed Death itself. "W-What are you?"

"Oh, forgive me. I'm Skottàdie, the Goodness of the Darkness. Now, if you…"

"You killed Death." I whispered, not believing what was happening. "Why?"

"Well, let's say that you, my dear, have a guardian angel. Now, if you don't mind, I have to clean up this mess."

"What are you…?"

Before I could finish my sentence, she put an open hand in front of my head.

"Deathsleep!"

Before I could even react, my eyelashes started to close against my will and my body fell unconscious on the floor.

* * *

"Skottàdie made it. Your sister's safe."

Mary Rose let out a sigh of relieve which she didn't knew she was holding.

She turned around to Benedict. "Good job. Thank you, Ben."

The vampire sat in front of her, in an armchair. "Don't thank me. Our dear Goodness did all the work."

Mary leaned forward, with a raised eyebrow. "How do you have a Goodness making you wishes?"

The British smirked. "That, my dear, is a secret."

The woman huffed. It didn't matter how many times she'd ask him, because he'd never tell her the truth.

"So" He began, making Mary wake up from her daydreams. "Don't you want to know how your little sister is doing?"

"Why would I care? She's alive, isn't she? That's all I need to know."

Mary was about to get up but Benedict stopped her. "Yeah… About that, you still didn't tell me the truth about why you wanted to save her. I mean, you spend your life saying how much you hate her, however, when a chance to get rid of her appeared, you saved her. Why?"

That was the question that Mary was afraid to answer. Even she didn't know very well why she asked Benedict to save her sister.

"I guess that I wanted to be the one to kill her. Do you think that I'd let a stupid car accident steal me my revenge?"

Benedict scrutinized Mary's face for some moments, until he said, with that accent of his:

"You're lying. Your blood is running faster, you're nervous."

Zhalia's sister rolled her eyes. "Please. Are you telling me that I do care about Amanda? That's just madness."

The brunet smiled broadly, leaving his fangs in display. "Oh my God. You really do care about your sister, after all." Benedict brought a hand to his chest, on a melodramatic gesture. "I'm chocked. Mary Rose, the woman who considers herself a psychopath, cares about her sister. This is…"

Mary clenched her fists, anger burning in her emerald eyes. "Shut. Up."

"Or what? You'll kill me with hugs? Then go on! I gladly accept it."

In a quick, angry movement, Mary jumped to the armchair in front of her and punched Benedict hard in the face. The vampire hissed in pain, and she let herself smile for a moment. "You look more gorgeous than ever."

"Hehehe… How funny of you, Rosie."

"Call me that again, and your other cheek will get a new tattoo, understand?"

Benedict raised his hands in the air, in a signal of surrender. "Don't need to be so aggressive, luv. If you go on like that, you may break your fragile personality."

The vampire grinned and before Mary could make her promise come true, he rose from the armchair and went upstairs at a breakneck speed.

"YOU COWARD! COME BACK HERE!"

Benedict's melodious laugher echoed through the hallway when he heard Mary's angry screams.

She really was fun to play with.


End file.
